But mostly I like it because it is has those outsized, Tonka-toy yellow rugged good looks.

MacArtney’s wet mate connector shortens the time needed for connection and makes it possible to operate in waters with limited time windows. This is particularly important for renewable energy devices where changing tides or wave action are often associated with marine renewable deployments. The MacArtney 11kV wet mate connector provides safe and reliable connection to the power grid and addresses a number of fundamental challenges in building and maintaining marine renewable installations. Development of the connector was funded by ETI and testing witnessed by DnV (Det Norske Veritas).

http://boingboing.net/2014/12/15/giant-underwater-plug.html/feed0Build your own working tabletop V8 enginehttp://boingboing.net/2014/09/23/build-your-own-working-tableto.html
http://boingboing.net/2014/09/23/build-your-own-working-tableto.html#commentsTue, 23 Sep 2014 21:00:12 +0000http://boingboing.net/?p=333390
The Haynes Build Your Own V8 Engine ($65.62) sounds fantastic -- the lengthy selection of positive reviews confirm the manufacturer's claim that a "talented 10 year old" could assemble it, and it can be disassembled and reassembled, which makes it great for classrooms, camps and studios. (via Red Ferret)
]]>
The Haynes Build Your Own V8 Engine ($65.62) sounds fantastic -- the lengthy selection of positive reviews confirm the manufacturer's claim that a "talented 10 year old" could assemble it, and it can be disassembled and reassembled, which makes it great for classrooms, camps and studios. (via Red Ferret)
]]>http://boingboing.net/2014/09/23/build-your-own-working-tableto.html/feed0New kind of rotary engine - hypnotic!http://boingboing.net/2014/07/15/new-kind-of-rotary-engine-hy.html
http://boingboing.net/2014/07/15/new-kind-of-rotary-engine-hy.html#commentsTue, 15 Jul 2014 17:00:59 +0000http://boingboing.net/?p=318368
Duke Engines demonstrate a new kind of internal combustion engine, based on a crazy, hypnotic, rotary system. I lack the mechanical engineering chops to know whether this is any good, but it's fun to watch.
(via Sploid)
]]>

Duke Engines demonstrate a new kind of internal combustion engine, based on a crazy, hypnotic, rotary system. I lack the mechanical engineering chops to know whether this is any good, but it's fun to watch.
(via Sploid)
]]>

This is a thermonuclear weapon, lodged in a field in North Carolina where it landed after falling from crashing B-52 on January 24, 1961.

]]>

This is a thermonuclear weapon, lodged in a field in North Carolina where it landed after falling from crashing B-52 on January 24, 1961. Some new documents detailing the history of the Goldsboro Incident were declassified this week.

Besides information the history of Goldsboro and several other near-disaster, the documents focus on problems with nuclear arsenal safety during the Cold War. The documents particularly focus on issues with weapons design. At Goldsboro, for instance, the weapons ended up armed (increasing the risk of an actual detonation) because the manual arming switch was designed in such a way as to allow it to turn itself on in response to the force of the plane crash.

The documents also discuss the risks of "sealed-pit" weapons, which were designed with the plutonium or uranium core already sealed into the warhead — unlike earlier designs that required operators to insert the nuclear material when the bombs were ready to be used. The sealed-pit design greatly increased the risks associated with lost or accidentally dropped bombs, as in the case of Goldsboro.

In 1970s, the CIA used this ship to capture a sunken Russian nuclear submarine — i.e., lifting a 2000-ton object from a depth of three miles to the surface. It was the most expensive intelligence operation ever and it only kind of worked.

]]>http://boingboing.net/2014/02/19/the-crazy-cia-ship-that-became.html/feed0Robot cheetah demonstrates efficient new motorshttp://boingboing.net/2014/01/02/robot-cheetah-demonstrates-eff.html
http://boingboing.net/2014/01/02/robot-cheetah-demonstrates-eff.html#commentsThu, 02 Jan 2014 19:38:50 +0000http://boingboing.net/?p=277636
MIT researchers built a 70-pound robot "cheetah" meant to demonstrate the high efficiency of a new electric motor design. Among other improvements, the design enables the impact energy of the robot's leg hitting the ground to be captured and fed into the robot's battery.]]>

MIT researchers built a 70-pound robot "cheetah" meant to demonstrate the high efficiency of a new electric motor design. Among other improvements, the design enables the impact energy of the robot's leg hitting the ground to be captured and fed into the robot's battery. Soon, they expect the motors to enable the cheetah-bot to gallop at 35 mph which, of course, is still just half the speed of a real cheetah. However, it will hit those speeds much more efficiently than other running robots. From MIT:

Sangbae Kim, the Esther and Harold E. Edgerton Assistant Professor in MIT’s Department of Mechanical Engineering, says achieving energy-efficiency in legged robots has proven extremely difficult. Robots such as Boston Dynamic’s “Big Dog” carry heavy gasoline engines and hydraulic transmissions, while other electrically powered robots require large battery packs, gears, force sensors and springs to coordinate the joints in a robot’s leg. All this weighty machinery can add up to significant wasted energy, particularly when a robot’s legs need to make frequent contact with the ground in order to trot or gallop.

"MIT ‘cheetah’ robot rivals running animals in efficiency"]]>http://boingboing.net/2014/01/02/robot-cheetah-demonstrates-eff.html/feed0What Einstein and Szilard did in their spare timehttp://boingboing.net/2014/01/02/what-einstein-and-szilard-did.html
http://boingboing.net/2014/01/02/what-einstein-and-szilard-did.html#commentsThu, 02 Jan 2014 17:54:15 +0000http://boingboing.net/?p=277554invented a refrigerator? And a life-saving refrigerator, at that.]]>invented a refrigerator? And a life-saving refrigerator, at that. ]]>http://boingboing.net/2014/01/02/what-einstein-and-szilard-did.html/feed0The tools of cocktail science and engineeringhttp://boingboing.net/2013/12/03/the-tools-of-cocktail-science.html
http://boingboing.net/2013/12/03/the-tools-of-cocktail-science.html#commentsTue, 03 Dec 2013 16:22:06 +0000http://boingboing.net/?p=271994 a great slideshow of tools used to make the sort of fancy, $15 cocktails that are served to you by gentlemen wearing handlebar mustaches.]]> a great slideshow of tools used to make the sort of fancy, $15 cocktails that are served to you by gentlemen wearing handlebar mustaches. From CNC routers that carve ice, to drinks aged in sous-vide machines, to repurposed lab equipment like centrifuges and rotary evaporators, it's a cool behind-the-scenes view of the gadgets used by the modernist bartender. (Random shout-out to Peder at Marvel Bar!)]]>http://boingboing.net/2013/12/03/the-tools-of-cocktail-science.html/feed0Empathy is a core engineering valuehttp://boingboing.net/2013/12/01/empathy-is-a-core-engineering.html
http://boingboing.net/2013/12/01/empathy-is-a-core-engineering.html#commentsSun, 01 Dec 2013 19:53:57 +0000http://boingboing.net/?p=271457explains why the company expects engineers not to use gendered pronouns in documentation: "empathy is a core engineering value—and that an engineer that has so little empathy as to not understand why the use of gendered pronouns is a concern almost certainly makes poor technical decisions as well."]]>explains why the company expects engineers not to use gendered pronouns in documentation: "empathy is a core engineering value—and that an engineer that has so little empathy as to not understand why the use of gendered pronouns is a concern almost certainly makes poor technical decisions as well."
]]>http://boingboing.net/2013/12/01/empathy-is-a-core-engineering.html/feed0How engineers freeze soil to create structurally sound solid walls of earthhttp://boingboing.net/2013/11/12/how-engineers-freeze-soil-to-c.html
http://boingboing.net/2013/11/12/how-engineers-freeze-soil-to-c.html#commentsTue, 12 Nov 2013 15:50:37 +0000http://boingboing.net/?p=267724"ice walls" that will remain frozen for years.]]>"ice walls" that will remain frozen for years. At Nova, Jessica Morrison writes about this weird technique, which has been around for over half a century and is more commonly used as part of massive construction projects with large underground components, including Boston's Big Dig. ]]>http://boingboing.net/2013/11/12/how-engineers-freeze-soil-to-c.html/feed0Gonzo essay on the limits of chip designhttp://boingboing.net/2013/09/27/gonzo-essay-on-the-limits-of-c.html
http://boingboing.net/2013/09/27/gonzo-essay-on-the-limits-of-c.html#commentsFri, 27 Sep 2013 17:14:14 +0000http://boingboing.net/?p=258318
The term "gonzo journalism" gets thrown around pretty loosely, generally referring to stuff that's kind of shouty or over-the-top, but really gonzo stuff is completely, totally bananas.]]>
The term "gonzo journalism" gets thrown around pretty loosely, generally referring to stuff that's kind of shouty or over-the-top, but really gonzo stuff is completely, totally bananas. Case in point is James Mickens's The Slow Winter [PDF], a wonderfully lunatic account of the limitations of chip-design that will almost certainly delight you as much as it did me.

I think that it used to be fun to be a hardware architect. Anything that you invented would
be amazing, and the laws of physics were actively trying to help you succeed. Your friend
would say, “I wish that we could predict branches more accurately,” and you’d think,
“maybe we can leverage three bits of state per branch to implement a simple saturating
counter,” and you’d laugh and declare that such a stupid scheme would never work, but then
you’d test it and it would be 94% accurate, and the branches would wake up the next morn-
ing and read their newspapers and the headlines would say OUR WORLD HAS BEEN
SET ON FIRE. You’d give your buddy a high-five and go celebrate at the bar, and then you’d
think, “I wonder if we can make branch predictors even more accurate,” and the next day
you’d start XOR’ing the branch’s PC address with a shift register containing the branch’s
recent branching history, because in those days, you could XOR anything with anything
and get something useful, and you test the new branch predictor, and now you’re up to
96% accuracy, and the branches call you on the phone and say OK, WE GET IT, YOU DO
NOT LIKE BRANCHES, but the phone call goes to your voicemail because you’re too busy
driving the speed boats and wearing the monocles that you purchased after your ­promotion
at work. You go to work hung-over, and you realize that, during a drunken conference call,
you told your boss that your processor has 32 registers when it only has 8, but then you realize
THAT YOU CAN TOTALLY LIE ABOUT THE NUMBER OF PHYSICAL REGISTERS,
and you invent a crazy hardware mapping scheme from virtual registers to physical ones,
and at this point, you start seducing the spouses of the compiler team, because it’s pretty
clear that compilers are a thing of the past, and the next generation of processors will run
English-level pseudocode directly. Of course, pride precedes the fall, and at some point,
you realize that to implement aggressive out-of-order execution, you need to fit more
transistors into the same die size, but then a material science guy pops out of a birthday
cake and says YEAH WE CAN DO THAT, and by now, you’re
touring with Aerosmith and throwing Matisse paintings from
hotel room windows, because when you order two Matisse
paintings from room service and you get three, that equation
is going to be balanced. It all goes so well, and the party keeps
getting better. When you retire in 2003, your face is wrinkled
from all of the smiles, and even though you’ve been sued by sev-
eral pedestrians who suddenly acquired rare paintings as hats,
you go out on top, the master of your domain. You look at your son
John, who just joined Intel, and you rest well at night, knowing
that he can look forward to a pliant universe and an easy life.

http://boingboing.net/2013/09/27/gonzo-essay-on-the-limits-of-c.html/feed0How physics sunk the Titanichttp://boingboing.net/2013/09/11/how-physics-sunk-the-titanic.html
http://boingboing.net/2013/09/11/how-physics-sunk-the-titanic.html#commentsWed, 11 Sep 2013 17:56:46 +0000http://boingboing.net/?p=255210The iceberg wasn't the only thing that took down the Titanic, explains Yale University materials scientist Anissa Ramirez. Instead, cold temperatures in the icy North Atlantic changed the behavior of the materials that made up the boat — changes that reduced the ocean liner's ability to withstand a head-on iceberg collision.

The iceberg wasn't the only thing that took down the Titanic, explains Yale University materials scientist Anissa Ramirez. Instead, cold temperatures in the icy North Atlantic changed the behavior of the materials that made up the boat — changes that reduced the ocean liner's ability to withstand a head-on iceberg collision.

]]>http://boingboing.net/2013/09/11/how-physics-sunk-the-titanic.html/feed0Ancient nanotechnologyhttp://boingboing.net/2013/08/30/ancient-nanotechnology.html
http://boingboing.net/2013/08/30/ancient-nanotechnology.html#commentsFri, 30 Aug 2013 17:28:32 +0000http://boingboing.net/?p=253004Romans created color-changing glass goblets that shifted colors based on what you put in them.]]>Romans created color-changing glass goblets that shifted colors based on what you put in them. ]]>http://boingboing.net/2013/08/30/ancient-nanotechnology.html/feed0507 Mechanical Movements, with animationshttp://boingboing.net/2013/08/20/507-mechanical-movements-with.html
http://boingboing.net/2013/08/20/507-mechanical-movements-with.html#commentsWed, 21 Aug 2013 01:00:08 +0000http://boingboing.net/?p=251158507 Movements brings to life Henry T Brown's 1868 treatise "Five Hundred and Seven Mechanical Movements, Embracing
All Those Which Are Most Important in Dynamics, Hydraulics, Hydrostatics, Pneumatics, Steam Engines, Mill and Other Gearing, Presses, Horology, and Miscellaneous Machinery; and Including
Many Movements Never Before Published
and
Several Which Have Only Recently Come Into Use," and includes selected animations of the mechanisms. Hypnotic and educational!

]]>507 Movements brings to life Henry T Brown's 1868 treatise "Five Hundred and Seven Mechanical Movements, Embracing
All Those Which Are Most Important in Dynamics, Hydraulics, Hydrostatics, Pneumatics, Steam Engines, Mill and Other Gearing, Presses, Horology, and Miscellaneous Machinery; and Including
Many Movements Never Before Published
and
Several Which Have Only Recently Come Into Use," and includes selected animations of the mechanisms. Hypnotic and educational!

http://boingboing.net/2013/08/20/507-mechanical-movements-with.html/feed0How ants always land on their feethttp://boingboing.net/2013/05/21/how-ants-always-land-on-their.html
http://boingboing.net/2013/05/21/how-ants-always-land-on-their.html#commentsTue, 21 May 2013 13:40:02 +0000http://boingboing.net/?p=231460 Scientists are studying the ways ants brace against a fall to help design better robotos for search-and-rescue missions. ]]>http://boingboing.net/2013/05/21/how-ants-always-land-on-their.html/feed1Life of astronaut Sally Ride honored in Kennedy Center tributehttp://boingboing.net/2013/05/20/life-of-sally-ride-honored-in.html
http://boingboing.net/2013/05/20/life-of-sally-ride-honored-in.html#commentsMon, 20 May 2013 21:27:23 +0000http://boingboing.net/?p=231258
American astronaut Sally Ride monitors control panels from the pilot's chair on the flight deck in 1983. Photo by Apic/Getty Images, via PBS NewsHour.]]>American astronaut Sally Ride monitors control panels from the pilot's chair on the flight deck in 1983. Photo by Apic/Getty Images, via PBS NewsHour.

Tonight, PBS NewsHour science correspondent Miles O'Brien will serve as master of ceremonies in a Kennedy Center gala honoring the life and legacy of astronaut Sally Ride. The tribute will highlight her impact on the space program and her lifelong commitment to promoting youth science literacy.

Geoscientist Matt Kuchta explains why wet sand makes a better castle than dry sand — and what you can do to make your sand fortress even more impenetrable. Hint: The secret ingredient is window screens.

]]>http://boingboing.net/2013/04/24/how-to-build-a-better-sand-ca.html/feed9A spaceship that tastes like Grape-Nutshttp://boingboing.net/2013/04/22/a-spaceship-that-tastes-like-g.html
http://boingboing.net/2013/04/22/a-spaceship-that-tastes-like-g.html#commentsMon, 22 Apr 2013 14:49:32 +0000http://boingboing.net/?p=225756you could theoretically use this stuff to make rocket casings, according to R. Malcolm Brown, Jr., a professor of cell biology at UT Austin. And if you can build a rocket from this stuff, you could also break the same material back down into an edible, high-fiber foodstuff. ]]>http://boingboing.net/2013/04/22/a-spaceship-that-tastes-like-g.html/feed10Why do trains stay on the track as they go around a curve?http://boingboing.net/2013/04/10/why-do-trains-stay-on-the-trac.html
http://boingboing.net/2013/04/10/why-do-trains-stay-on-the-trac.html#commentsWed, 10 Apr 2013 12:18:42 +0000http://boingboing.net/?p=223764

The other night, Joshua Foer posed this question was posed to a table full of science journalists. Most of us started talking about friction, and/or possibly something to do with the little flanges on either side of a train wheel.

We were all wrong.

This is a Richard Feynman video, yes, but it's more about mechanics than physics. Turns out, you can learn a lot about how trains stay on the track by looking under your own car.

Known affectionately as Bertha, this tunnel boring machine has the widest diameter of any boring machine ever built; 57.5 feet. It's being used to dig a highway tunnel under downtown Seattle and it just arrived there today after being shipped from Japan.

]]>

Known affectionately as Bertha, this tunnel boring machine has the widest diameter of any boring machine ever built; 57.5 feet. It's being used to dig a highway tunnel under downtown Seattle and it just arrived there today after being shipped from Japan.

]]>http://boingboing.net/2013/04/02/worlds-largest-tunnel-boring.html/feed48Photos from on top of the Great Pyramidhttp://boingboing.net/2013/03/27/photos-from-on-top-of-the-grea.html
http://boingboing.net/2013/03/27/photos-from-on-top-of-the-grea.html#commentsWed, 27 Mar 2013 17:10:34 +0000http://boingboing.net/?p=221510

The Pyramids of Giza close to tourists at 4:00 pm. Recently, a group of Russians managed to hide out at the site after closing time and scramble up the Great Pyramid of Cheops in the fading light.

]]>

The Pyramids of Giza close to tourists at 4:00 pm. Recently, a group of Russians managed to hide out at the site after closing time and scramble up the Great Pyramid of Cheops in the fading light. Naturally, they took photos. (Because if there is one thing the Internet has taught me about Russians, it's that they like to climb to dangerous heights and then take photos.)

These shots are kind of fabulous, not just for the thrill of "yeah, somebody broke the rules!", but because of the perspective you get from on high that isn't visible in the many ground-level shots I've seen. From on top of the Pyramid, you can see how the stone is pockmarked and carved — it really looks like something humans cut out of the Earth. You can also see the graffiti left by generations of tourists in multiple languages; English, Arabic, French, and more. And you can see the edge of the modern city, shimmering just at the horizon. I don't think I'd previously had such a profound sense of how closely modern Egyptians lived and worked to the Great Pyramid, before. What a fascinating view!

]]>http://boingboing.net/2013/03/27/photos-from-on-top-of-the-grea.html/feed59How to: Demolish a truss bridgehttp://boingboing.net/2013/03/25/how-to-demolish-a-truss-bridg.html
http://boingboing.net/2013/03/25/how-to-demolish-a-truss-bridg.html#commentsMon, 25 Mar 2013 16:55:41 +0000http://boingboing.net/?p=220842Like the people cheering at about :25 into this video, I'm a sucker for dramatic explosions. This one comes from Texas, where the transportation department blew up an old bridge in the city of Marble Falls on March 17th. Also, apparently, it's warm enough in Texas that multiple gentlemen could watch a bridge explode from the comfort of their jet skis.]]>

Like the people cheering at about :25 into this video, I'm a sucker for dramatic explosions. This one comes from Texas, where the transportation department blew up an old bridge in the city of Marble Falls on March 17th. Also, apparently, it's warm enough in Texas that multiple gentlemen could watch a bridge explode from the comfort of their jet skis.

Making a high-quality elevator isn't just about designing something that can safely go from one floor to another. Elevators are service items.

]]>

Making a high-quality elevator isn't just about designing something that can safely go from one floor to another. Elevators are service items. That means that when you design an elevator, you also have to design for people — both individual desires and needs, and the desires and needs of a variety of cultures.

You press a button and wait for your elevator. How long before you get impatient and agitated? Theresa Christy says 20 seconds.

As a mathematician steeped in the theories of vertical transportation at Otis Elevator Co., Ms. Christy, 55, has spent a quarter-century developing systems that make elevators run as perfectly as possible—which means getting most riders into a car in less than 20 seconds. "Traditionally, the wait time is the most important factor," she says. "The thing people hate the most is waiting."

... The challenges she deals with depend on the place. At a hotel in the holy city of Mecca in Saudi Arabia, she has to make sure that the elevators can clear a building quickly enough to get most people out five times a day for prayer.

]]>http://boingboing.net/2012/12/05/the-secrets-of-elevator-design.html/feed17In post-Sandy "dewatering" mission, Army engineers drain one Olympic-sized pool's worth of water per minutehttp://boingboing.net/2012/11/05/in-post-sandy-dewatering-m.html
http://boingboing.net/2012/11/05/in-post-sandy-dewatering-m.html#commentsMon, 05 Nov 2012 13:07:17 +0000http://boingboing.net/?p=192171Army Corps of Engineers press release, details on the astounding rate at which workers are draining water from New York's subway and transit tunnels: "To date, the USACE has used about 50 pumps of various sizes to remove 64 million gallons of water from the New York City mass transit system.]]>Army Corps of Engineers press release, details on the astounding rate at which workers are draining water from New York's subway and transit tunnels: "To date, the USACE has used about 50 pumps of various sizes to remove 64 million gallons of water from the New York City mass transit system. Operations are ongoing at six sites, with pumps removing about 116,000 gallons per minute. The 696,000 gallons the pumps are draining each minute exceeds the amount of water in one Olympic-size swimming pool (660,000 gallons). There were roughly 600 million gallons in the tunnels when pumping operations began on Thursday, Nov. 1." (via Noah Shachtman).]]>http://boingboing.net/2012/11/05/in-post-sandy-dewatering-m.html/feed19Meet the National Unwatering Swat Teamhttp://boingboing.net/2012/10/31/meet-the-national-unwatering-s.html
http://boingboing.net/2012/10/31/meet-the-national-unwatering-s.html#commentsWed, 31 Oct 2012 20:33:16 +0000http://boingboing.net/?p=191416it will do what the National Unwatering Swat Team does best — remove water from places it shouldn't ever be. This is a different mandate than dewatering, in which water is removed from places where it's sometimes okay to have water. (Via Philip Bump)]]>it will do what the National Unwatering Swat Team does best — remove water from places it shouldn't ever be. This is a different mandate than dewatering, in which water is removed from places where it's sometimes okay to have water. (Via Philip Bump)]]>http://boingboing.net/2012/10/31/meet-the-national-unwatering-s.html/feed6Entropy versus warranty: how companies figure out how breakable their products arehttp://boingboing.net/2012/10/23/entropy-versus-warranty-how-c.html
http://boingboing.net/2012/10/23/entropy-versus-warranty-how-c.html#commentsWed, 24 Oct 2012 01:13:36 +0000http://boingboing.net/?p=189233
The current Wired has a long feature by Robert Capps on the significant changes in product testing and warranty service brought about by the combination of highly accurate computer modelling and disclosure laws that force firms to publish details of the costs of their warranty plans.]]>
The current Wired has a long feature by Robert Capps on the significant changes in product testing and warranty service brought about by the combination of highly accurate computer modelling and disclosure laws that force firms to publish details of the costs of their warranty plans. The latter was most interesting to me, as it offers insight into what had formerly been a black box for gadget-watchers.

One of the world’s foremost experts on the cost of product failure lives and works in a fifth-floor apartment on a modest block in Forest Hills, Queens. His name is Eric Arnum, and he runs a one-man newsletter titled Warranty Week. Tall and soft-spoken, he can (and often does) talk about warranty accruals, payment rates, and reimbursement policies for hours without stopping. Most of his days are spent in his small office, working on a vast array of spreadsheets and PowerPoint slides—files that contain detailed warranty information for 1,107 companies. Collectively, these sheets hold perhaps the most comprehensive accounting of product failures on the planet.

Warranty information is one of the most closely guarded secrets in corporate America. Companies are loath to share how much they spend on warranties and why. It’s understandable, as talking about warranties is the same as talking about the fact that your products break when they’re not supposed to. Because of this, nobody just gives data to Arnum. He has to dig it out, one company at a time.

Arnum owes his livelihood to Enron. In the wake of the scandal that took down the energy juggernaut, the Financial Accounting Standards Board made changes to the Generally Accepted Accounting Principals—the rules that, among other things, govern how companies write financial statements. As of November 2002, companies were required to provide a detailed reckoning of their guarantees, including their warranty reserves and payments, in quarterly and yearly filings. The result was that, for the first time in history, someone could look at, and compare, how US public companies handle claims—how much they pay out, how much they hold aside for future payments.